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Q&A: U.S. Missile Defense

By

Deborah Creighton Skinner

Updated July 3, 2006 11:59 p.m. ET

The U.S. activated its ground-based interceptor missile-defense system in late June amid concerns about an expected North Korean missile launch. The U.S. has said it would be a provocation if North Korea were to launch the missile, which some experts said could reach as far as Alaska.

Philip E. Coyle III is a senior adviser to the Center for Defense Information. From 1994-2001 he was an assistant secretary of defense and director of the department's testing and evaluation, and he served on the 2005 Base Realignment and...